Langeveldt pulls out of tour

Charl Langeveldt has withdrawn from South Africa's tour of India and is considering his international future.

Last Updated: 18/03/08 5:05pm

Charl Langeveldt has withdrawn from South Africa's tour of India and is considering his international future.

Langeveldt was controversially picked ahead of fellow fast bowler Andre Nel as part of Cricket South Africa's 'transformation policy', which calls for six of the 14-man squad to be non-white.

The selection went against the wishes of coach Mickey Arthur who wanted to retain the same squad that recently enjoyed a successful tour of Bangladesh, even though that included only four non-white players.

"Charl Langeveldt called me today in an emotional state saying he wanted to withdraw from the tour to India so that he can consider his international future in the right frame of mind," said CSA chief executive Gerald Majola in a statement.

"He said that the public controversy over the selection of the Proteas team to tour India had upset him to the extent that he would not be in the right frame of mind to tour India and do his best for the Proteas.

Cool and calm

"Charl said he wanted to use this time instead to consider his future in international cricket in a cool and calm manner.

"I have assured Charl that he is very much in the Proteas' plans, and is regarded as one of our best fast bowlers in both ODI and Test cricket.

"We will have in-depth discussions with him and hopefully he will continue to be available for international selection."

Nel's international future also remains unclear after he reacted angrily to being dropped when the squad for India was announced on the eve of the final one-day international in Bangladesh.

The South African selectors have yet to name Langeveldt's replacement.